Across the area

By From Staff Reports

School is sued over comment

An Aiken couple who say their son was humiliated by a racial comment in his class at St. Mary Help of Christians Catholic School filed suit Friday.

Dennis and Regina Hurshman say their son Nick was told by a teacher he had to use the term "negroid" when describing himself in class in August 2001 because his mother is black and his father is white. The boy, noted by the lawsuit as the only nonwhite person in the class, had wanted to use the term "other," the lawsuit states.

The Hurshmans also say in court filings that their son has been afraid of the Ku Klux Klan after the same teacher told his class she had voted for a Klansman for president.

The Hurshmans are seeking unspecified monetary damages. The school, the teacher and eight others associated with the school named as defendants have 30 days to respond.

Aiken man reports being robbed of car

An Aiken man told police the car he was driving was stolen at gunpoint Thursday night by a man in a Hawaiian shirt, a police report states.

Ray C. Wooden Jr., 27, said he stopped about 9 p.m. along South Carolina Highway 19 to check a noise coming from the front of the 1990 gray Honda he was driving, according to the Aiken County Sheriff's Office.

As he was standing in front of the car, a vehicle he described as a 1980s white Buick or Pontiac four-door pulled up with three men inside. All the men got out, and the man in the Hawaiian shirt and blue jeans asked Mr. Wooden if he needed help, the report stated.

Mr. Wooden declined, and the man pulled out a pistol and threatened to shoot Mr. Wooden if he didn't give them the car. Mr. Wooden ran away, and the man with the gun drove the Honda toward Edgefield while the others followed in the white car, the report stated.

2 arrested, 9 plants seized in pot bust

Richmond County narcotics officers seized nine marijuana plants and arrested two people at a Hephzibah home Friday.

Police arrived at the residence in the 2400 block of Mallard Lane and found the plants growing in the back yard, said Richmond County sheriff's Investigator Mathue Phares, of the narcotics division. Authorities arrested residents Daniel Monroe Hoover, 26, and Tonya Lorene Lewis, 33, he said.

The couple was charged with manufacturing marijuana, officers said. Investigator Phares would not discuss how police found out about the plants.

Teen faces charges in April bomb threat

An Augusta teen was arrested Friday on charges of threatening to blow up Glenn Hills High School several months ago.

Kenshae Sharie Turk, 17, is accused of writing the threat on a piece of toilet paper April 26 and leaving it in the women's bathroom, according to a Richmond County Sheriff's Office report. The threatening message was discovered by school officials, the report states.

The message said the writer wanted to blow up the school on Glenn Hills Drive and kill several students. The school was evacuated when the note was found, the report states.

A Warrenville, S.C., man was being held in the Richmond County jail Friday, charged with setting fire to his ex-girlfriend's car.

Kyler Romone Crofton, 21, is accused of grabbing Brandi Wright's arm in the parking lot of her apartment on Woodhill Trail about 11:20 p.m. Wednesday, according to a Richmond County Sheriff's Office report. After the altercation, Mr. Crofton allegedly scratched the word "dead" on the hood of her Honda Accord with a box cutter, the report states.

The report alleges that Mr. Crofton also scratched all of the vehicle's body panels and attempted to set fire to the Accord's gas tank.

Police arrested Mr. Crofton at the apartment Thursday and charged him with simple battery, criminal damage to property in the second degree and arson, jail records show. He was being held at the jail on more than $7,000 bond, officials said.

Blood center urges all who can to donate

Shepeard Community Blood Center is asking for all who can donate blood to do so this weekend - especially those who have O-positive and O-negative blood types.

Today, the Shepeard centers in Martinez and Aiken will be open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

On Sept. 11, in honor of residents who stood in line donating blood after last year's terrorist attacks, the center's Augusta and Martinez locations will hold a special ceremony and provide gifts for individuals who donate blood on the anniversary day.

For more information, call 737-4557.

Islamic Society offers anniversary forum

The Islamic Society of Augusta is sponsoring a public forum to recognize the first anniversary of the Sept. 11 tragedy.

"Building Bridges: Muslims and America, Post Sept. 11," will be held today from 3 to 6 p.m. at the society's center, 3416 Middleton Drive in Martinez.